The Dutch and ice-skating: Why the passion?

The Netherlands is at the moment in an ice skating frenzy. Every canal, shallow lake and river which has frozen from days of sustained sub-zero temperature are venues for ice skating. Some places are holding ice skating races and a colleague of mine told me that there was even an ice disco at her parents’ place in Almere. We even came close to having the almost mythical “Elfstedentoch”, that almost 200 kms. ice skating tour/race that spans 11 cities up north in the province of Friesland. The whole country waited in bated breath for the decision of the Vereniging Elfstedentoch (Eleven Cities’ Tour Committee) last Wednesday if the tour will push through (the 16th in its history which dates back to 1909 and the first this century). Even foreign members of the press descended in Friesland to cover this event and were also betting for a GO on the Elfstedentoch which is hailed as the creme de la creme, the tour of all tours and the race of all races in outdoor skating event not just in The Netherlands but in the whole of Europe.

Frozen canal across the road from our home

The little girl getting her beginner's skates on

Baby steps to mastering the ice

The country got caught up in maelstorm of emotions that it will have its 16th Elfstedentoch this winter when the oftentimes very reserved and sceptical Vereniging Elfstendentoch had its first meeting earlier in the week. Then a contingent of 50-man army members were sent to Friesland to prepare part of the route, clearing the ice of snow so that the sub-zero freeze will still enable the ice cover to further grow especially at night. The Friesians also rallied to the challenge, mobilizing everyone to do their share in clearing up the ice of snow cover either by hand or with the aid of some ice-clearing machine. The committee requires that the average ice thickness to be a minimum of 15 cm. in the entire route in order to be safe to accommodate 16,000 skaters (not including the enthusiastic public who also step into the ice to cheer the participants). With all the news focused on economic troubles across Europe these days, the idea of Elfstedentoch was a much welcomed diversion. Hotel rooms in Friesland suddenly became overbooked and overpriced. The Dutch Railways (Nationale Spoor) was offering special tickets to Leeuwarden (the capital of Friesland) with 40% discount. In every nook and corner of the country the talk was only about the Elfstedentoch.

I was one of the millions who waited in bated breath for the press conference of the committee last Wednesday. And I was one of the millions who felt disappointment and sadness afterwards. The committee after consulting all the ice masters (Rayonhoofden) decided against holding the Elfstedentoch due to weak spots in some areas where the ice thickness did not meet the minimum standard. Some places have just around 10-12 cm. which was deemed to be not sufficient enough for a large contingent of skaters. The weather forecast also showed that the worst of freezing is over and the coming days were not going to result in more ice growth. The ever enthusiastic skaters asked that the minimum standard of 15 cm. be lowered (ice skating is already OK at 8 cm.) but the committee was adamant to keep it, justifying that it was already a reduced one from the original 18 cm. in the earlier races in. Again, this shows the Dutch pragmatism who will not be swayed by emotions that were hitting the roof for a go on Elfstedentoch for no one want to have on their plates the blame in case something untoward happens.

Never mind if the Elfstedentoch is not pushing through, the Dutch en masse are still off with their skating shoes and that will stay till the ice start melting. The training and passion start early and that is for my daughter as well who actually surprised us this Friday when on her third time on the ice (2 other times were in the ice skating rink after Christmas), she just took off walking quite some distance without falling. She has conquered her fear and found her balance on the ice. I know that just like with walking and other phases in her life, it will only go from strength to strength from here onwards.

Finding her balance and conquering her fear...this little girl is catching the ice skating fever

Finding her balance on ice

Baby steps to mastering the ice...papa still in the background

Baby steps to mastering the ice

Start-up lesson in ice skating

There were other kids also getting their introductory lessons on ice

Learning the tricks of ice skating

Falling on ice is part of the learning process

Baby steps

Teens hit the ice right after school

Birds contend with a very small unfrozen area under the bridge

This bird with its spread-out wings caught my attention

To explain the Dutch passion for ice skating is to take a deeper look at the country’s geography, geology and history. Two-thirds of The Netherlands lie below sea level. I remember that as a child when I was presented this fact, I found it extremely difficult to imagine. How can the country not be overwhelmed by water when the sea water level is higher? In the Philippines, the land is never below sea level but we still get inundated by flood waters on almost a regular basis. Why is it different in The Netherlands. Then came the story about the dike that protect a village against the water and how this one little boy stuck his finger in a small leak in the dike which made him a hero.

The Dutch can be considered as among the most ingenious of people in the world for having mastered living in this condition of most of its land being below sea level. They created dikes and levees. They even reclaimed land from the sea. How did they do it? The Dutch since centuries ago learned to pump the water from low-lying areas with the use of windmills and channel them to a series of canals. The canals then channel the water to the rivers which would eventually empty into the North Sea. That’s the reason why The Netherlands has many canals and how swampy places like Amsterdam for instance, became a habitable place and was used as inspiration by Peter the Great of Russia to create St. Petersburg.

While the Elfstedentoch is a “No Go” for now, the hope that it can still push through has not completely waned. THe temperature will warm up beginning end of Sunday till most of the week but by end of next week, there is a second freeze expected. Who knows, it might still happen…let’s keep our fingers crossed for now.

About MalouI'm a mom to a five-year old little girl with interest in cooking, baking, traveling and photography. Castles and palaces are special favorites so when weather permits for a good walk on weekends, me, hubby and little girl are always out for a bit of adventure.

Wonderful post. I never knew about the Elfstedentoch – it sounds amazing. I’m sorry that it won’t be happening but I see that you and your family are enjoying the ice. The pictures of your daughter are enchanting!

Thanks a lot. Elfstedentoch is a very Dutch ice skating race which is hailed as the best of all ice skating races. Unfortunately, it does not take place that often because it needs a long and sustained period of sub-zero temperature to freeze the almost 200 kms. route. Nonetheless, everyone here enjoyed their time on the ice. ;-)

That’s true. It is amazing how my little girl just quickly picked up the skill. She wanted so much to be one of the older girls who are skating so fast. On the other hand, I can only watch and take pictures. ;-)

Even without the Elfstedentoch, the Dutch had their fun on ice which was wonderful. My daughter gained her confidence on ice which was great so I’m sure that next winter, she’ll be doing even much better. ;-)

A giant, yes I would say so. we challenge the world in pretty much every winter sport there is. Skating is a pretty big deal here. Canada is usually the number 1 hockey power in the world and always are at or near the top in speedskating. There are outdoor and indoor rinks in almost every town in the country. Love skating.

Sounds like so much fun in the middle of a serious winter! During my two winters in Den Haag the lowest temperature was only around -5C, not much snow.
Now I’m living in Albany NY and we’re used to lots of snow & harsh winter. This year, however, the winter has been really mild – contrary to what’s going on in Europe due to the anticyclone.
Still, I’m glad that you and your family are enjoying the winter. No cabin fever, good for you guys!

Den Haag because of the influence of the North Sea is always warmer than the rest of the country. I remember that while there was snow in the rest of the country, Den Haag was always free of snow and I would complain to my husband. I love snow having grown up in the tropics.

Too bad that yours is a mild winter out there in NY. Don’t give up hope yet, I also thought that winter would skip us altogether and then voila, we had 2 weeks of sub-zero freeze. ;-)

What a fun way to cope with cold winters. The mental picture that the thought of a zamboni driving down an outside ice canal instead of cleaning ice in a skating rink brings up is just hilarious to someone who has never seen outdoor ice thick enough to skate on.

I lived near Nijmegen, but on the German side of the (then) border, for three years when I was a teenager. Loved Holland, the wonderful people, the culture, the history, the cleanliness and the obvious love of life.

This was just the most delightful post to read today for me! I have no experience with canals, other than a quick visit many years ago. I really felt like I was there visiting with you. I held my breath and was disappointed when the news came out! This was so well written, excellent! And your daughter is adorable.. those beginner skates brought back so many wonderful memories for me!

Thanks a lot, Barbara! I hope you will visit The Netherlands again in the future. Being Canadian, I’m sure that you’re a natural on ice. Here in Holland, it is impossible not to be swayed by the passion of many to put on those skates (except me, if course, ha, ha, ha!).

Those are so cool! A dear friend of mine is a pro ice skater, and I never knew that skates could easily run into the thousands of dollars. I wonder if these friese doorloper were an economical way to not have to keep buying kids bigger skates . . .

I am so interested to read about the skating event! My husband was in Amsterdam in mid January and talking to his Dutch clients about skating and they told him about the E. Sounds wonderful and so sorry that it isn’t happening! I loved reading Han Brinker when I was young and have long been curious about skating in your country.

The Elfstedentoch excitement indeed reached fever pitch here. Unfortunately, it was not a good idea to hold this event when the ice in some parts of the route was considered not safe enough. It would have been my first time too to experience the passion and excitement like any Dutchman here but hopefully we’ll still have it in the future…

It’s cheap fun, isn’t it? Everyone had a great time skating on the frozen canal. Even at night, this canal is filled with enthusiastic teenage skaters. The people who live there have these huge spot lights so the fun continues way into the night.

What a beautiful blog! My daughter was a competitive US figure skater & I can appreciate watching those baby steps on skates. Although she loved competitive skating, I’m sure that skating the canals would be an amazing adventure for her. I remember her Russian coach talking about doing this and what an incredible experience it was.

Thanks a lot, Diane! The Dutch are crazy about skating. It goes hand in hand with the national pride. Everyone here will be with their skating shoes on the moment the canals are safe for skating. Your daughter should still try at least once to experience the Dutch outdoor skating when the canals are frozen. I’m sure that she will cherish the experience. ;-)

Ahhh… you remind how I miss ice skating. Growing up in Boston, seemed like everyone skated. Now living on the Oregon Coast, the weather is much too mild (but I like that!) I suppose we can’t always have it both ways. Thanks for the visit to my blog.

My cousin broke her wrist on the ice – so not much fun. There was a book by Miendert De Jong about learning to ice-skate. The canals don’t always freeze up so skating is a hit and miss it seems – Kind of like Calgary where we have great outdoor ice and then we get chinooks that melt it all. Thanks for sharring!